Page 37 of Heir

“But as Queen, I must have some kind of ruling power to change things though, right? Like I can get rid of the whole Fated Mates thing? We should be allowed to choose who we want to marry. Not forced into a marriage like some . . . regency piece of property. I’m not a commodity. I’m not a brood mare to just keep popping out baby bears, mages, and vampires.” Her eyes went wide. “Oh god, if we’re not the same species, how would that even work? Would our children be abominations? Outcasts? Freaks?”

Chuckling at her adorable panic, I finished my first pizza, put the box on the floor, and opened up the second box. Mmmm, mushroom and pepperoni. “Our children would be bear shifters with demon powers. So they’d have the best of both our powers.”

“And ours would be demon-mages. The best of both powers. However, not necessarily fire mages. Their specific mage powers would reveal themselves around the age of five.” Maxar said.

We all faced Drak, waiting to find out what kind of spawn he and Omaera would produce. The idea of him rutting with her made my skin crawl and the bear inside me wanted nothing more than to pull his jugular out of his neck and use it as a skipping rope.

“We would have vampire children only. For as long as I have been alive, I have never heard of a vampire mating with a demon. And if it has happened, there is no record of a vampire-demon hybrid. So that means the vampire gene would be dominant.”

“Why does the demon species rule all the species?” Gemma asked, having gotten up from the couch to grab everyone plates and napkins. Only she, Maxar, and I were eating pizza though.

“It is said that because demons possess the ability of mind manipulation, they are the strongest. They can sit there and do nothing and basically make your brain explode, or convince you to kill yourself. In the past, there were wars over this. Many, many wars,” I pointed out. “But King Donovar ruled peacefully. He didn’t abuse his power. He held several court meetings with all the rulers and listened to them fairly. He preferred to say that they ruled the Realm together, not beneath him. He was a very beloved king.”

Omaera exhaled. “Well, at least my dad wasn’t a tyrant who everyone wanted dead.” She frowned. “Someone did though. And they succeeded.”

“I already have people looking for Lerris,” Drak said. “He is the most likely suspect. Since nobody knew about you, he would be next in line for the throne.”

“Or someone else killed Donovar with the thought that Lerris would become King and be easier to manipulate or overthrow?” Maxar added. “That has happened before. Remember the war of 1689 between King Pyrne of the Demons and King Solovan of the Vampires?”

I nodded. “Another reason why we need to keep you safe. Because if whoever killed your father finds out about you, they’re going to try to take you out too.”

Her moss-green eyes widened. “Take me out? What if I just give him the throne?”

The vampire, mage, and I exchanged glances with each other.

“Talk to me. Not telepathically with each other,” Omaera demanded.

“I don’t know much about Lord Lerris, but I’m not sure he’s someone we want as King of the Realm,” I said gently. “He’s certainly not someone my father said he’d ever like to see in charge.”

“King Howar said the same thing.”

“As did Queen Anysa’s proxy, who I spoke with,” Maxar added.

“I . . . I need to talk to my aunt,” Omaera finally said, getting up from her little corner of the couch. “She always knows what to do.” Her gaze landed on Gemma. “Right? Boy problems. Life problems. Even math problems, she always has the answer.”

“Is she back from her trip to Mexico?” Gemma asked.

Omaera nodded. “Yes, she got in two nights ago. I meant to go see her, but . . . well, I was kind of struck by fucking lightning.”

“Where is this Delia?” I asked, still reconciling with Omaera’s mention of boy problems. How many boys did she have problems with in her past? And, what kind of problems did they cause her? Did I need to hunt them down and teach them a lesson? Drag them into the woods and treat them to an eternal mud bath six feet under?

“Twenty minutes from here,” Gemma said, grabbing another piece of pizza. She glanced at her phone. “It’s like three in the morning now. We should at least wait for it to be a decent hour before we go knocking on Delia’s door.”

Omaera chewed on the side of her thumbnail as she paced back and forth along the transition that separated the kitchen from the living room. “Why do I feel like I need to go to her right now?”

“Because you’re panicking and you need answers,” Gemma said. “But waiting a few hours won’t change anything. Let her sleep. You should sleep too.”

I nodded, and put my second empty pizza box on the floor. “That’s a good idea.”

Omaera didn’t look convinced, though. She seemed agitated—more than what I’d grown used to. Her chest heaved and her gaze shifted erratically back and forth. She growled. “How the hell do any of you expect me to sleep when . . . all of this is going on?” She waved her hands at the three of us. “I really feel like I need to go to Delia right now. Like once I talk to her, all of this will make sense.”

Gemma’s face softened. “And I’m sure it will. In. The. Morning. Let her sleep. And you should sleep, too.”

Frowning, I stood up, rested my pizza boxes on the coffee table, and went to her. “There isn’t anything we can do until morning. Maybe you will find answers in your dreams, remember something else that happened when you woke up after the lightning.” With hesitation, I rested my hands on her shoulders, applying just a little bit of pressure. I wanted to jump for joy when she sighed beneath my touch, closed her eyes, and finally nodded.

“Fine,” she gritted out. “But I’m in my room alone. You three . . . try not to kill each other . . . or do. I don’t care.”

Gemma pried herself out of her chair and came over to give Omaera a hug. Jealousy rippled through me at how close her friend got to get to her, and yet she barely let me touch her.

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